Nagini's night
by Aishne
Summary: A short story on a near assasination. More poetic than anything else...enjoy!


All character in this story belong to J.K.Rowling, and I have no claim on them whatsoever (though I wish I had!)

It was a dark, cold night. Under the moons cool gaze, Hogwarts slept. In the stillness something moved, slithered towards the castle. Where to get in? Nagini considered the options; the front door? That would be closed. A window? Too high. She'd have to find a back way in.

She moved silently around the castle, judging every crack in the wall, but none where big enough. Finally she found a door, closed, but a large enough hole at the bottom to admit her slim form.

Which way now? Up. She moved gently along the cold floor, tasting the air constantly for the faintest whiff of her prey. This must be the dungeon. It was clammy, damp, and smelled of smoke. She passed the potions room, so many smells came to her that there was no chance of detecting her prey here. She moved along to the foot of the stairs, crawled up them, slowly. Finally, she reached an old, musty tapestry hanging over the entrance. She slid underneath, and out into the warmer corridor.

Over the smell of ink, paper and chalk, a hint, just a hint, of the meat she was after! She quickened her curving body, pushing it faster as hunter instincts came to her. Suddenly; footsteps! Open corridor, nowhere to hide! She turned, panic rising in her. Not now! She must not be discovered, that's what her lord and master had said. 

'You are hungry Nagini' he had said. 'Go to the school, and find him. And eat him Nagini, we cannot let you starve'.

She could not let down her master. That would be too terrible. 

She twisted to go back the way she came, urging her supple muscles to get her back before they saw her. A hole! Triumphant she slipped up into a suit of armour, and waited until the footsteps past. Safe. For now. She slipped out of the armour, and flicked out her tongue again, tasting his scent. She must follow it; she must find him for her master.

As she slipped along the corridor, the scent became stronger. _I will find him! I will kill him! I will taste his blood for my master!_ Closer and soon her job would be done. 

Another flight of stairs, another long climb. She moved in a supple rhythm, beautiful and deadly, very deadly to her pray. He would not have a chance to overthrow her master, she would show her power over all the pitiful Deatheaters that had failed to kill him. It would be easy.

She finally reached the top, and rested for a moment. Taste! She could almost taste his blood, he was so close. She moved along the corridor, slipping over the highly polished floor. All too easy. Here! The smell went into the wall here! But where? There was no door, only a picture above her. What now? She slumped back. There must be some way in! _I will not fail my master! I will taste his blood! _She ached to sink her deadly fangs into soft flesh. His flesh. A sound! It came from the other side of the picture, someone was calling. 

* * *

The picture frame swung outwards and Neville stuck his head out; 'Trevor! Trevor, come here now' This was impossible, he thought. Why does he keep running away? I'm never going to find him in the dark.

Neville closed the picture frame, went back to bed, and never noticed the dark shape that slipped away into the shadows of the commonroom. 

* * *

Very close! So very close, but yet another staircase. She smelled her pray up there! Once the boy had gone, Nagini slithered to the bottom of the staircase and looked up. Light was starting to touch her through the windows, she needed to hurry! _I will taste his blood before the nights out._ She started to climb. Light followed her slow progress, lazily flowing into the commonroom, and steeling up after the determined snake.

At last, she rested at the foot of the door. It was open! Left ajar so a soft breeze blew in from behind her. She crawled in.

There! That was her pray! That was the one who threatened her master, who threatened the dark side! She would kill him now, and nothing would threaten her master ever again! He would be supreme over all wizards and muggles, and it was she who would have made it all possible. Here. Now. She approached the bed following the track his smell made in the air. The smell of his blood made her own course through her veins as she moved gently towards the side of the bed. Finally, it would be over. Finally, she could show that her venom was more powerful than even the most resilient human. No Lethifold had a patch on her! She was the supreme killer that no one could dispute! As she raised herself to the edge of the bed, poised like a cobra, ready to strike, Harry woke.

* * *

Strange words. All about killing, blood, and honour passed through Harry's ears as he sat up, slowly. Death. Something was outside the curtain around his bed moving slowly, barley moving at all.

__

I will taste his blood! He will die! I have done my masters bidding! Now I am the supreme killer!

Paresel tongue, snake language, so no one else would hear. A snake, after him. Fear ran through Harry's body. He couldn't shout for help, for then the snake would know he was awake and kill him for sure. So what could he do? Harry almost panicked; no one could help him now. Suddenly, an idea came into his head, what if…?

Suddenly the voice stopped speaking. Silence fell. The death was coming at the speed of lightning, and there was only one thing Harry could do to stop it.

He swung himself out of bed, and kicked the snake lunging towards him. It fell to the floor, thrown off balance by Harry's unexpected attack. She turned round, and swung herself forwards again to strike. Harry jumped back and fell onto his bedside table. As Nagini moved towards him, and readied herself for the kill, Harry fumbled behind him…and felt his wand. As Nagini struck for the last time, Harry pulled the wand from the table, and pointed it at her.

'_Avda Kedavra' _Harry shouted, and a blast of green light erupted from the wand end. Nagini fell back, dead.

'Stop making such a racket' said Ron sleepily, 'do you know what time it is?'

Please please please review, even if you only got half-way down and thought it was complete rubbish, because there is no way on earth I'm going to improve otherwise. Thanks!


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